Study – The Siasat daily

New York: In this era of computer games, it's important for kids to go out and play with the neighborhood kids.

A new study indicates that parents who school their children at home may think that having them participate in sports and organized physical activity keeps them fit, but that young people need a lot more.

Researchers, including Laura Kabiri of Rice University, said the problem lies in the amount of activity that is part of an organized diet.

The authors stated that parents should give their children more time every day for unstructured physical activities.

"Parents know that if they do not see their children breathe and sweat profusely, they are not doing enough exercise," Kabiri said.

"So there should be more opportunities for unstructured activities. Bring your children to the outdoors and let them run and play with the neighborhood kids and ride a bike. "

According to the World Health Organization, children should do about an hour of aerobic activity a day. But other studies have shown that children who play sports that are not part of the elite actually do only 20 to 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity.

For the study, published in the Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology, researchers studied data collected from 100 children aged 10 to 17 attending school at home.

Source: IANS